BALTIMORE (WJZ)–The court rules all employer members of the Catholic Benefits Association exempt from the Affordable Care Act’s birth control mandate.

The ruling, handed down by the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma on Wednesday, includes parishes within the Baltimore Archdiocese.

“We formed the Catholic Benefits Association to support Catholic employers in providing quality, cost-competitive, morally compliant health care benefits for their employees. Yesterday’ decision makes this a reality,” said Archbishop William Lori, president of the Catholic Benefits Association and Archbishop of Baltimore.

The court also ruled that CBA employer members and Catholic parishes that are CBA members will not be liable for “any penalties, fines and assessments for noncompliance with” the contraceptive/abortifacient mandate.

In March, the CBA and eight other Catholic organizations, filed the class action lawsuit seeking to protect its members’ exercise of religion by exempting them from the mandate that requires them to provide coverage for free contraceptives, abortion inducing drugs, abortion inducing devices, sterilization and related counseling.